Earth (AKA “the World” or “the Globe”) is the third planet from the Sun and is the birthplace of humanity and the cradle of human civilization.

‘s Earth Day Doodle!

Earth is approximately 4.6 billion years old. The oldest known rocks are about 4 billion years old (rocks older than 3 billion years are rare) and the oldest fossils of living organisms are less than 3.9 billion years old. With a radius of 3,959 miles, Earth is the biggest of the known terrestrial planets, and the fifth largest in our solar system.

Planet Earth, Sol System, Milky Way Galaxy, Universe

71 Percent of the Earth’s surface is covered with water. Earth’s atmosphere is 77% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, with traces of argon, carbon dioxide and water (H20). Earth’s oceans have an average depth of about 2.5 miles and contains 97 percent of the planet’s water. Earth has a central (inner and outer) core, a rocky mantle and a solid crust.

The name “Earth” is at least 1,000 years old and it is the only planet whose name doesn’t come from from Greek or Roman mythology. The name is from Old English and Germanic origins and means “ground”.

Earth orbits the sun and completes one daily rotation every 23.9 hours. It takes 365.25 days to complete a one year trip around the sun. The Earth’s axis is tilted 23.4 degrees to the plane of the planet’s orbit around the sun and this causes the cycle of seasons.

Earth is the only known planet that has a single moon. The moon is (an average distance of) 238,855 miles away from Earth.

Planet Earth, Sol System, Milky Way Galaxy, Universe

A beautiful Waikoloa sunset on the Big Island of Hawaii

We Can Run
by John Barlow & Brent Mydland

We don’t own this place though we act as if we didIt belongs to the children of our children’s kidsThe actual owners haven’t even been born yet

But we never tend the garden and we rarely pay the rentMost of it is broken and the rest of it is bentPut it all on plastic and I wonder where we’ll be when the bills hit

We can run but we can’t hide from itOf all possible worlds we only got one, we gotta ride on itWhatever we’ve done we’ll never get far from what we leave behindBaby we can run, run, run but we can’t hide

Well I’m dumping my trash in your back yardMaking certain you don’t notice really isn’t so hardYou’re so busy with your guns and all of your excuses to use them

Well it’s oil for the rich and babies for the poorWe’ve got everyone believing that more is moreIf a reckoning comes maybe we’ll know what to do then

We can run but we can’t hide from itOf all possible worlds we only got one, we gotta ride on itWhatever we’ve done we’ll never get far from what we leave behindBaby we can run, run, run but we can’t hide

All these complications seem to leave no choiceI heard the tongues of billions speak with just one voiceSaying just leave all the rest to me, I need it worse than you, you seeThen I heard the sound of one child crying

Today I went out walking in the amber windThere’s a hole in the sky where the light pours inI remember the days when I wasn’t afraid of the sunshine

But now it beats down on the ashphalt landLike a hammering blow from God’s left handWhat little still growsCringes in the shade till the night-time

We can run but we can’t hide from itOf all possible worlds we only got one, we gotta ride on itWhatever we’ve done we’ll never get far from what we leave behindBaby we can run, run, run but we can’t hide (….no, we can’t hide.)

Waimoku Falls – Hana, Maui (copyright 2010 JoshWillTravel)

Can You Handle The Truth?

Wild Geese Over the San Fernando Valley

LOVE YOUR MOTHER EARTH!

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The song tells a folk tale of a cowboy who has a vision of red-eyed, steel-hooved cattle thundering across the sky, being chased by the spirits of damned cowboys. One of the riders warns him that if he doesn’t change his ways, he’ll be doomed to join them.

The song presents an image of cowboy hell with doomed riders destined to chase the Devil’s cattle for all eternity. Known by the different titles “Riders in the Sky“, “Ghost Riders“, “Ghost Riders in the Sky” and “A Cowboy Legend“, the song has become a Country & Western Classic!

“(Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend” was written by Stan Jones in 1948.
Stan Jones said he heard the story when he was 12 years old from an old cowboy.
More than 50 performers have recorded their own cover versions of the song.

Burl Ives recorded the original version of the song in February, 1949:

Vaughn Monroe recorded the song in March, 1949 and it went to Number One on the Billboard charts. Here’s a live performance from 1965:

Ghost Riders in the Sky!

“(Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend“

An old cowboy went ridin’ out one dark and windy dayupon a ridge he rested as he went along his waywhen all at once a mighty herd of red-eyed cows he sawplowin’ through the ragged skies and up a cloudy draw

Their brands were still on fire and their hooves were made of steeltheir horns were black and shiny and their hot breath he could feela bolt of fear went through him as they thundered through the skyfor he saw the riders comin’ hard and he heard their mournful cries

Their faces gaunt, their eyes were blurredtheir shirts all soaked with sweathe’s ridin’ hard to catch that herdbut he ain’t caught em yet’cause they got to ride forever in that range up in the skyon horses snortin’ fire as they ride on, hear their cries

As the riders loped on by him he heard one call his nameif you want to save your soul from hell a-ridin’ on our rangethen cowboy change your ways today or with us you will ridetryin’ to catch the devil’s herd across these endless skies

yippie i ohhh oh oh, yippie i aye ye yeghost riders in the sky, ghost riders in the sky, ghost riders in the sky…….

Ghost Rider in the Sky!

The Ventures made a surf rock cover of the song in 1961 and Dick Dale recorded a rockin’ version for his second album “King of the Surf Guitar” which was released in 1963.

The song inspired the 1949 Gene Autry film “Riders in the Sky”
and the film’s tag lines:“Gene and Champion Ride To Glory!…
as the range echoes to the stirring strains of the great cowboy ballad!”
and“A GREAT COWBOY BALLAD launches Gene on his most stirring adventure!”

Of course Gene Autry sings “Ghost Riders in the Sky”. A chance meeting with Stan Jones led Autry to buy the rights to the song, and he gave Jones a part in the film. Jones appears as a cowboy riding and singing along with Autry in the opening and closing scenes of the film. The song also inspired the 1953 film “Goldtown Ghost Riders” starring Gene Autry.

Gene Autry, World’s Greatest Cowboy!

Gene Autry RIP (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998):
He made 640 recordings, including more than 300 songs written or co-written by him.
His records sold more than 100 million copies. He has been awarded more than a dozen gold and platinum records, including the first ever certified gold record.
He was awarded 5 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame On February 8, 1960:
for Motion Pictures, Radio, Recording, Television and Live Performance.
He is the only person with 5 stars on the Walk of Fame.
Elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1969
Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1972.
Inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1979 as a stock contractor.
He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, The National Cowboy Hall of Fame and the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
He received The Songwriters Guild Life Achievement Award and was given a lifetime achievement award from ASCAP.
He was a 33rd Degree Mason, an Honorary Inspector General and was awarded the Grand Cross of the Court of Honor.

He created a code of conduct for his young fans called“The Cowboy Code”:
1. The Cowboy must never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage.
2. He must never go back on his word, or a trust confided in him.
3. He must always tell the truth.
4. He must be gentle with children, the elderly, and animals.
5. He must not advocate or possess racially or religiously intolerant ideas.
6. He must help people in distress.
7. He must be a good worker.
8. He must keep himself clean in thought, speech, action, and personal habits.
9. He must respect women, parents, and his nation’s laws.
10. The Cowboy is a patriot.

“The Lawrence Welk Show”with Neil LeVang on guitar (1961):

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Johnny Cash:

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Elvis Presley in 1970 (in Culver City, California):

The song also inspired the horror-Western comic-book character the Ghost Rider. After Magazine Enterprises’ trademark ran out, Marvel Comics debuted its own version of the character in “Ghost Rider” #1 in February, 1967. The character was later renamed the Phantom Rider when Marvel debuted the demonic motorcyclist Ghost Rider.

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Nicolas Cage starred in the 2007 film “Ghost Rider”
and the 2012 sequel “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.”

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The Blues Brothers performed the song in the 1998 film “Blues Brothers 2000.” Their version appears on both the soundtrack and on the album “The Blues Brothers’ Greatest Hits of All Time.” In the film, the band is booked at a bluegrass festival and announced as “The Bluegrass Brothers”. Buster Blues’ harmonica parts were recorded by John Popper of Blues Traveler.

According to The Doors’ Robby Krieger, it inspired the classic song “Riders on the Storm”

It evolved out of a jam session when the band was messing around with “Ghost Riders In the Sky” and it was Jim Morrison’s idea to alter the title to “Riders On The Storm.” It was also the last song Jim recorded. He went to France and died a few weeks later. If you listen closely, you can hear Jim whispering the lyrics over his singing. Ray Manzarek told Uncut magazine in September 2011: “There’s a whisper voice on ‘Riders on the Storm,’ if you listen closely, a whispered overdub that Jim adds beneath his vocal. That’s the last thing he ever did. An ephemeral, whispered overdub.” The single was released in June 1971, shortly before Morrison’s death.

Doors drummer John Densmore wrote an auto-biographical book called
“Riders On The Storm” about his life with Jim Morrison and The Doors.

Former National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis’ message regarding Trump:

This morning former Director Jon Jarvis made this statement about recent events involving the National Park Service:

“I have been watching the Trump administration trying unsuccessfully to suppress the National Park Service with a mix of pride and amusement. The NPS is the steward of America’s most important places and the narrator of our most powerful stories, told authentically, accurately, and built upon scientific and scholarly research. The Park Ranger is a trusted interpreter of our complex natural and cultural history and a voice that cannot not be suppressed. Edicts from on-high have directed the NPS to not talk about “national policy”, but permission is granted to use social media for visitor center hours and safety. The ridiculousness of such a directive was immediately resisted and I am not the least bit surprised. So at Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta should we not talk about his actions to secure the rights to vote for African Americans in the south, or is that too “national policy”? At Stonewall National Monument in New York City, shall we only talk about the hours you can visit the Inn or is it “national policy” to interpret the events there in 1969 that gave rise to the LGBT movement? Shall we only talk about the historic architecture of the Washington, DC home of Alice Paul and Alva Belmont or is it too “national policy” to suggest their decades of effort to secure the rights of women can be linked directly to the women’s marches in hundreds of cities last weekend? And as we scientifically monitor the rapid decline of glaciers in Glacier National Park, a clear and troubling indicator of a warming planet, shall we refrain from telling this story to the public because the administration views climate change as “national policy”? These are not “policy” issues, they are facts about our nation, it is how we learn and strive to achieve the ideals of our founding documents. To talk about these facts is core to the mission of the NPS. During the Centennial of the National Park Service, we hosted over 300 million visitors (now that is huge) to the National Parks and most came away inspired, patriotic and ready to speak on behalf of the values we hold most dear. The new Administration would be wise to figure out how to support the National Park Service, its extraordinary employees and their millions of fans.”

—————————————————————

Kilauea meets the sea. Volcanoes National Park – Big Island Hawaii

JOIN NOW!You don’t have to be a park ranger to “Like” what they stand for – or even to join ANPR as a full-fledged member! The have categories for park employees, students and park supporters. http://www.anpr.org(RIGHT CLICK and “OPEN IN NEW WINDOW”)

NOTE: A freeze on federal government hiring was instituted on January 24, 2017 by executive order. The memo, which does not apply to military personnel, states that “no vacant positions existing at noon on January 22, 2017, may be filled and no new positions may be created, except in limited circumstances”

Trump put a freeze on federal government hiring, and it could seriously impact the National Park Service and the need to hire thousands of seasonal rangers and other employees for the summer! Beyond seasonal positions, there are many permanent positions that parks are trying to fill and people who have already been offered permanent jobs but haven’t begun working… this will definitely affect the visitor experience and park safety!

from a poem written by Katharine Lee Bates in 1893
(after a visit to Pikes Peak in Colorado)
music composed by Samuel A. Ward
–
Pikes Peak, named in honor of American explorer Zebulon Pike, is one of the highest summit of the Rocky Mountains in North America. The 14,115-foot mountain top is located in Pike National Forest, 12 miles southwest of downtown Colorado Springs. The summit of Pikes Peak is a high alpine environment with a polar climate due to its elevation. Snowfall is possible year round at the top and thunderstorms are common in the summertime. Pikes Peak, above 14000 feet, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961.
–http://www.nps.gov

JoshWillTravel in the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias – Yosemite National Park

25000 Hits!!!!!

25000 HITS!!!!!

THANK YOU TO ALL MY LOYAL FOLLOWERS AND READERS!!!!!

It’s a MILESTONE! When we started this Blog in February 2013 we wondered how long it would take to reach the milestone numbers. We have finally reached 25000, without any paid promotion or heavy marketing. In fact, beyond our facebook and Twitter posts, we have let our Blog grow organically without hype and have attracted loyal readers from around the world!

25000 HITS!!!!!

Sunday 24 April 2016 is the day we hit 25000 Hits on our Blog!!!!!

25000 HITS!!!!! A Champagne Toast!!!!!

We will continue to post about things we find interesting, important and fun!
Thank you again for your time and attention! We look forward to the next milestone!

William Shakespeare RIP: poet, playwright & actor
A great writer and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist
England’s national poet aka the “Bard of Avon”
Died April 23, 1616

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness,
and some have greatness thrust upon them.”~William Shakespeare ‘Twelfth Night’

The playwright was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, the Warwickshire market town, and returned there when he retired.

Born in 1564, and the earliest record of his writing dates from 1592

Wrote around 38 full plays (including Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, King Lear, Othello and Macbeth), 154 sonnets and other works.

Words including “assassination”, “addiction”, “generous” and “bedroom” had their first recorded uses in his plays

Introduced phrases like “elbow room”, “heart of gold” and “tower of strength” to the English language

Acted as well as wrote, and owned a share in the original Globe theatre

Died on 23 April 1616, aged 52

Greg Bell as Shakespeare at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Agoura 1985

The Reduced Shakespeare Company (original members) performed “Hamlet” and “Romeo & Juliet” on the Caravanserie Stage at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Novato, California 1984-87

Jess, Adam & Daniel – The Reduced Shakespeare Company Original Members

When we were in college in Santa Cruz we worked for the University of California, Santa Cruz, Performing Arts Department and the Living History Centre (the producers of the Renaissance Pleasure Faire & Dickens’ Christmas Fair) in Black Point, Novato, California.

Shakespeare Santa Cruz 1984

“And, most dear actors, eat no onions or garlic, for we are to utter sweet breath; and I do not doubt but to hear them say, it is a sweet comedy.”
~ A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Act 4, Sc 2

In 1989, we traveled to Stratford-upon-Avon and London, England as a consultant to Homer “Murph” Swander’s “Theatre in England” (associated with UC Santa Barbara).

We saw 13 plays in 3 weeks at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s theaters in Stratford, and at The Pit, the National and Barbican in London. We saw Mark Rylance perform the title role of “Hamlet” in pajamas in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and the role of Romeo in “Romeo & Juliet” in The Swan Theatre. We also saw “Two Gentlemen of Verona”, “Cymbeline”, “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” and many other non-Shakespearean classical performances. We even saw Dustin Hoffman perform Shylock in “The Merchant of Venice” in London (his first time doing Shakespeare on stage).

Mark Rylance as the title character in the RSC’s “Hamlet” 1989

RSC Stratford-upon-Avon

Royal National Theatre of Great Britain

Kenilworth Hotel in London, The Falcon and Arden Hotels in Stratford-upon-Avon

Broughton Castle

NOTE: While in Stratford-upon-Avon, we had the pleasure to meet and drink with many of the RSC actors after the performances at the Falcon Hotel Bar across the street from the theatre. In addition, some of the RSC actors spoke, performed and answered questions at scheduled daytime meetings of our travel group. We also toured Broughton Castle.

NOTE: The Who and Bruce Springsteen LIVE from Toronto, Canada; Sir Elton John LIVE from his Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, California; Willie Nelson LIVE from SXSW in Austin, Texas; and Joe Satriani LIVE from the Fox Theatre in Oakland, California are just a few of the LIVE performances I’ve been able to watch LIVE on Periscope!

The U.S. travel community has collectively marked the event in a number of creative ways, from staging local rallies and conducting media outreach to securing proclamations and resolutions from local legislative bodies. Each year, localized events are presented in cities, states and travel businesses nationwide to champion the power of travel.

This year’s theme is “Travel Effect”:

This theme aligns with the current industry-wide campaign to prove the benefits of travel.

Research studies on travel’s positive effect on relationships, health, education, meetings and more, provide opportunities to tailor messaging about the impact of travel. Access current economic impact data, including a state-by-state interactive map, to spotlight the Travel Effect in your area.

In 2014, Travel Effect will broaden its focus to examine America’s “Day Off Deficit” and explore what it could mean to individuals, businesses and the economy if U.S. workers were motivated to use more of the time off they’ve earned and deserve. Stay tuned for new research in the coming weeks.

Champion the Benefits of Travel! Travel Rally Day is Tuesday, May 6!

Travel Rally Day is a concerted effort to demonstrate travel’s positive impact on local workers, businesses and economies – and, of course, on personal lives of travelers. Individual events are staged in cities nationwide during National Travel and Tourism Week.

The goal of Rally Day is to unite the local travel community with its supporters and publicly represent the importance of travel to media and elected officials.

Join the conversation by following @USTravel, #NTTW and #TravelEffect.

SOME VERY INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY!

LEISURE TRAVEL

■ Direct spending on leisure travel by domestic and international travelers totaled $564 billion in 2011.

The U.S. Travel Association is the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the travel industry that generates $1.9 trillion in economic output. It is the voice for the collective interests of the U.S. travel industry and the association’s 1,400 member organizations. U.S. Travel’s mission is to promote and facilitate increased travel to and within the United States.

LUXURY TRAVEL ADVISOR, TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE WRITER/BLOGGER

"Your Travel is Our Business!"
I hope that by sharing my journeys and experiences you will be inspired to embark on your own travel adventures. This blog is interactive, so please join in.
I welcome your questions, feedback, comments and emails.